Two-color wand light attachment for flashlights



Sept. 4, 1951 Filed June 9'. 195o G. S. ANDERSON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. s. ANDERSON 2,567,046

Two-COLOR WAND LIGHT- ATT-mmm FORv FLASHLIGHTS Sept, 4, 1951 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1950 Gordon .5'. nalerfson Patented Sept. 4, 1951 Two-COLOR WAND LIGHT ATTACHMENT ^-FoR FLAsHLIGH'rs e Gordon Si., Aliderson,Y Millbrook, N. Y., assignor to Stewart R" Brown Mfg. Co., Inc., New York,l N.' alcerporat on of New York pensaran 'Juris a, 195o, serian No. 167,145y

This. iai/antica releasing ansi useful imf nt t ights and hasl especial ref:

ebeeinefxiiiis invention is, ie provide, e, :i simpler compact, duiable attachment which can h ade: effective by, merely scr winger attachet ie. te Die ide e sieiiee which is simple, mechanically ev peet "eeenomical to Iieinuiaetui and, capable, Qieasy. and quick asseiblyandv disassembly' for replacement and reedvantaeeefilviii 'more eieriy @weer from. e eensidereifie effiiiedeteiled Speeiieatien hereinafter set 'fo'rth,'4 especially when taken in conneciien with the. eeeeiiinenyine drawings ifihieh' iilustraitea pres,erlitni'eferredr ferm which the incan on. 25 ,ria general, terms, the. inventieve is irl theioim of etieehme'nt ie' beeerewed er otherwise readilyv attached' to the upper end of asirivg of, standard type and contamina be" en?v "eeili The. etieehmeni 'iS in the frmbia metallic' heed having e' iienge i0 iie sei-.eww mi@ e gegenteil@ with the we of the casing and has' I, ocke't to receive a light-trailsmltti'n'gfwand oi t ial such as plastic disposed on the head ih dire ion in axial alinement with axis of the'casing. The head lo` es `o receive larrip bulbs and assoeie soest elem beiew" the Weed end adaptedfwhe illuminated, to throw light of one or another c olor against the bottom of the wand SQ that thewholel'ength ofthe wand is illumirated'in thiseolor ltc'afact as van effective signal.-

' S 't bl colored glass screens may 7trip bulbs in their bores to cl'orto the wand. 4revided 'with e lateral epeetied a Separate and selfe ed svi/ii .s unit Whieh' ie"e1eei`riee1iy connected t'enable'the 'operator to use his thumb or nger to switch one or another of the lamps irito eiruit to y`give the proper color oflight in thewarigil "The I'h'unitis integral and 'may he easilyinsi'jt'ed d removed. The entire unit can be easily` ss Iribled and disassembled for lejsieirieiit and repairE The head. has a derelativas. (C1. V:wv-estasi) 2 pendent stemY which contacts the center terminals of the upper battery cell, 'The' end result of the invention is that the attachment is so selfcontained with respect'to the switch and'bulb relations thatA all thatl is necessary to make it effective is to screw it on to the top ofthe ordinary casing to make all the connections automatically.

The present preferred form` which this invention may assume is shown in the drawings, 'Of which .i

Fig.I l is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the liney l-l o f Fig; 2v? 5 i Fig. 2 is a similar` View taken on theline '2f-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of4 the device with the sigiieiiine wend element reme'vedi and Fig. 'fl is a somewhat scheljnatie view of th device with particular reierencev tothe circuit connections involved.

Referring new merely i0 the, speeie preferred form O fthe invention'which ijs"eheivi1 in Jelle drawings, it will be apparent that I have provided a sirnple, compact, durable,- en ic'ient-device which can be readily screwedon to any standard flashlight casing to present an effective signalling device involving preferably a plastic wand extending from theY top oi the easing with cooperating switching means' to permit light of different colors to be' projected to be exhibited through said wand as a means for signalling which is especially useful in many instances such asin airports. f

Essentially, the device which constitutes our inventive device is to loer related to van ordinari7 standard flashlight easing. irwhieh may eentein one or more battery cells ll in Vthe'usual manner with the regular coil spring l2 at the bottom te melee eeniaet, end a metal Strip i3 eX- tending up inside the casing from the spring l2 te e peint midway the easing Where usually there is av button to be pressed to close the circuit. In this meterme., the buiten had geen eliminated end e sind i4 connected te' 'tile Strip I3. extends thieush the easing and ie lix'edly connected to e metal strip i5Whieh efxieiifiel up eleiie .the eut- Side ef the eee'in "l0 e l 'ie' beni ever iheiep ih ereei ae et lii- This strip, i5 Diefe'rebly'lies in e ereeve feriiied inthe side ei the eeeirie.-

The attachment whiqh v'ecristiti'ites the main feature of my invention` is in the torni of a light weight metal headA I1, preferably of iliflininurn'V or similar light weight metal which is 'provided with a lower threaded flange' i8 to be screwed on to iiie upper threaded end' lief ille eeeiiig When it is screwed on, it makes contact with the bend end I6 of strip I5 above mentioned on its upper face, the head I1 is provided with a socket Z9 into which can be snugly inserted the signalling wand 2 I, and this may be held in place in any suitable manner in the socket by any suitable means such as a set screw 22. This wand is preferably of any suitable plastic material which is capable, when light is projected along its axis, of transmitting said light and becoming illuminated thereby along its entire length so as to become a very effective means for signalling, an'd because the area and length of wand thus illuminated is much more effective than if it were merely a light from a single bulb.

The head has a transverse wall 23 at the bottom of the socket in which the wand is disposed and dependent from this wall are a pair of bores 24 and 25 opening into the bottom of the socket below the lower face of the wand. At the top of these bores, which are shouldered, are disposed color discs 26 and 21 held in place by split rings 28 and 29. In the lower end of these bores are disposed metallic shells 3D and 3| which are snug-tted therein. At their upper ends, these shells have therein threaded metallic sleeves 32 and 33 which form lamp sockets to receive the threaded lower ends of lamp bulbs 34 and 35 which may be screwed thereinto. At the bottom of these shells 30 and 3|, which are bent inwardly as shown in 34', are disposed coil springs 35 and 31 on the top of which are disposed insulating plates 38 and 39 slidable within the shells to support contact members 49 and 4! respectively. These members project through the discs or plates 3B and 39 and contact the central terminal of the lamp bulbs, and at their lower ends are connected to circuit wires 42 and 43.

Thus far, it will be seen that the head supports the plastic signalling wand as well as the plurality of bulbs beneath the same which are related into the circuit and with suitable color discs to transmit light of one color or another against the bottom of the wand which will then become illuminated along its entire length in the respective color. Contact between the circuit and the bulbs is insured by the resilient pressure exerted on the insulating plates 38 and 39 to hold their supported contact in electrical association with the central terminal of the bulbs.

The head has a screw threaded stem 44 extending centrally down therefrom with a lower bore 45 in which is seated an insulating washer 46 which is so shaped as to line the bore and extend laterally across the bottom of the stem 44. A contact member 41 has an upwardly projecting stem 48 which proiects upwardly into said washer. This contact member, or plate, 41 is adapted to rest as shown in the figures on top of the central contact 49 of the topmost adiacent battery cell. A suitable wire 50 is connected to this contact element 41.

The head is provided with a lateral opening shown in Fig. 1 into which is snug-fitted a metallic switch casing 52. Within this switch casing is disposed an insulating block 53 supporting a shaft 54 to which a switch handle 55 is connected. At one end of the shaft 54 is mounted an oscillatable metallic switch arm 56. A spring 51 seated in the block 53 bears against the back of this arm to hold it in rm contact with a pair of circuit contacts 51 and 58 which are mounted in spaced position on an insulating plate 59 which closes the front of the switch box 52. This switch boX is snug-fitted in the lateral opening 5! Q the head and is held in position by a set screw 59. It will thus be seen that the switch box is a separate unit which can be readily inserted into, and removed from, the head at will.

Referring to Fig. 4 which is a somewhat diagrammatic layout of the circuit connections, it will be seen that the base terminals of the bulbs arennected respectively to the contacts 51 and 58. The shells of the bulbs are connected by wires 60 and 6I to the metal body of the head itself. Of course it is understood that these wires 60 and 6| do not actually exist in the structure, but merely represent in the diagram the direct contact between the shells of the lamps and the metal casing ofthe head. The switch arm 55 is connected by wire 59 to the plate 41 as above described to make contact with the upper terminal of the topmost battery cell. From this, it will be perceived that the operator can grasp the device in his hand and readily manipulate the switch handle 55 to throw the 'contact to illuminate one or the other of the bulbs whereby the wand may be illuminated in different colors such as red and green. Of course the switch can be moved to the neutral position in which case neither bulb is in circuit. It is obvious that this device is a compact self-contained unit in the form of an attachment which, when it is assembled in the form shown, merely requires that it be screwed on to any standard flashlight casing in order to make automatic contact with the cells within the casing without any further connections or manipulations being made.

In a general consideration of the invention above described, it will be readily observed that the head i1 can be readily attached to the flashlight casing I0 by merely screwing the iiange i3 on to the threaded upper end of the casing at which time the metal of the casing makes electrical contact with the strip I6 connected to the batteries in the casing.

The switch unit is assembled as a self-contained unit separate from the casing, and then is inserted in the lateral opening 5i and tightened in place after the necessary electrical wire connections are made. The dependent stem 44 automatically makes connection with the battery when the head is screwed into position. After this, the operator merely has to manipulate the switch handle 5'5 to throw the light from one or the other of the bulbs through the colored screens to have vthe proper color of light thrown against the lower end of the wand 2l so that it may along its entire length be illuminated to act as a very clear and effective signalling means. In airports or similar places this wand illumination is a positive, clear, and definite signal, is invaluable and has been proved in many practical every-day uses.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respect to the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details, since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope4 thereof. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modications of the invention which may come within the language and scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, an attachment which includes a metallic head to be fastened to the end of a flashlight casing containing battery cells and having a socket therein disposed in line with the longitudinal axis of the casing, and an elongate light transmitting wand disposed in said socket and projecting therefrom along said axis, said head having bores therein below the socket, and lamp bulbs supported in said bores, said head also having a dependent stem to Contact a central terminal of an adjacent cell in the casing when the head is disposed on top of the casing.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the head has a lateral opening with a self-contained removable switching unit disposed therein and connected in circuit with the bulbs, the casing' and the cells.

3. A device of the class described which comprises a metallic head, a threaded flange thereon to adapt it to be screwed on to the top of a flash light casing containing batteries, said head having a socket in the top face 'thereof in line with the axis of the casing when applied, a lighttransmitting elongate wand disposed in said socket, said head having bores extending downward therein from the bottom of the socket, and light bulb receiving assemblies disposed in said bores.

4. A device according to claim 3 in which the assemblies comprise a metal shell disposed in the bore, a bulb-receiving threaded sleeve within the shell, and spring-pressed contact means slidable within the shell below the sleeve to contact the center terminal of a bulb inserted in the sleeve.

5. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which the head has a dependent stem to lie adjacent the upper battery cell in the casing and'contact means insulatingly supported on the lower end of said stem and adapted to engage the center terminal of the cell.

6. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which the head has an opening to receive a removable self-contained switch unit which is connected to the batteries, the lamp bulbs and the head.

7. A device in accordance with claim 5 in which the head has an opening to receive a removable self-contained switch unit which is connected to the batteries, the lamp bulbs, and the head.

GORDON S. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hefner et al Jan. 20, 1948 

